Economic Experiences of Japanese Civilian Repatriates in Hiroshima Prefecture, 1945-1956 Sumiyo Nishizaki

Economic History Working Papers No: 299 Economic experiences of Japanese civilian repatriates in Hiroshima prefecture, 1945-1956 Sumiyo Nishizaki Ritsumeikan University July 2019 Economic History Department, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, London, UK. T: +44 (0) 20 7955 7084. Economic experiences of Japanese civilian repatriates in Hiroshima prefecture, 1945-1956 Sumiyo Nishizaki JEL Codes: N15, N35, N45, J62 Keywords: Repatriation, Japanese empire, postwar, labour market Abstract After World War II, more than six million people returned to Japan from various parts of the former Japanese empire. Most studies of Japanese postwar repatriation have focused on the repatriation policies of the Allied powers and the Japanese government, the repatriation process between 1945 and 1956, and postwar memories of repatriates. In contrast, the economic experiences of repatriates in the postwar era have yet to be studied. This paper uses a large-scale national survey of repatriates’ postwar lives conducted by the Japanese government in 1956, focussing more specifically on approximately 110,000 civilian repatriates living in Hiroshima prefecture in 1956. The findings of this research contrast with prevailing suggestions that repatriates were totally neglected by the Japanese government and society. Instead, this research demonstrates that in Hiroshima prefecture, repatriates’ postwar job placement was facilitated by employment in agriculture, public sector employment, and the transferable skills possessed by some repatriates. The information from the 1956 government survey shows that approximately 60 per cent of repatriates fell in these categories, while the remaining 40 per cent found employment in new areas or became unemployed. Research on repatriates in other prefectures (Ibaraki, Osaka, and Kanagawa) shows a similar trend. As a result, despite the scale of the repatriation, the settlement was broadly successful. It can be argued that this type of transition helped to bring political and economic stability, which became a foundation of Japan’s postwar economic recovery. Introduction The economic impact of large influxes of population is a complex topic that has been much debated. This research contributes to these debates by examining one of the most significant, but least researched, examples of postwar migration: the repatriation of more than six million people—three million civilians and three million demobilised soldiers—to Japan after World War II. One pervasive image of Japanese civilian repatriates is that of the immigrant farmers of Manchuria, 1 who had difficult experiences during their repatriation.1 However, many returned from other regions of the Japanese empire, including Korea, Taiwan, and Sakhalin. Repatriates included not only farmers, but also colonial government officials, employees of public and private corporations, small business owners, teachers, and priests, amongst others. Most studies of Japanese postwar repatriation have focused on the repatriation policies of the Allied powers and the Japanese government, the repatriation process (geographical routes and repatriates’ experiences) between 1945 and 1956, as well as the postwar memories of repatriates. To better understand the overall profile of the Japanese repatriates, this paper uses a large-scale national survey of repatriates’ postwar lives conducted by the Japanese government in 1956. This article specifically focuses on the approximately 110,000 civilian repatriates living in Hiroshima prefecture in 1956, in particular their occupational changes as a result of the repatriation. History of Japanese migration and post-World War II repatriation During the Edo period (1603–1868), Japan closed its borders, and the Tokugawa government banned international travel until the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854. In the 1880s, limited numbers of Japanese people started to migrate to Hawaii as sugar plantation labourers under an agreement between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Japanese government.2 Some others migrated to other parts of Asia as temporary labourers, servants, merchants, and even as prostitutes. The number of Japanese migrants significantly increased after Japan colonised Taiwan (1895) and Korea (1910), and a growing number became long-term or permanent settlers. Hiroshima prefecture was consistently one of the major sources of Japanese settler immigrants in Korea, China, Taiwan, and the United States. After the United States tightened restrictions on Japanese immigration in the 1920s, Japanese 1 Sengo Kaitakushi Hensan Iinkai, Sengo Kaitakushi (Tokyo: Zenkoku Kaitaku Nōgyō Kumiai Rengōkai, 1977), 31. 2 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Yokohama Japanese Overseas Migration Museum, "Hawaii Ni Watatta Hitobito," Kaigai Ijū Shiryōkan Dayori 32 (2014): 3. 2 immigrants’ destinations expanded to include Latin America. In the 1930s, as Japan’s war effort intensified, a larger number of Japanese people migrated to various parts of the Japanese empire. As shown in Figure 1, by the end of World War II in August 1945, more than three million Japanese civilians were outside of the country, together with three million Japanese soldiers. Japanese post-war repatriation started immediately after the end of World War II. However, as shown in Figure 2, the process took many years to complete. Between the end of the war in August 1945 and the end of 1946, approximately 5.1 million repatriates (81 per cent of the total, including both civilians and soldiers) had arrived back in Japan. By the end of 1950, 99.3 per cent had returned. 3 Figure 1: Civilian returnees by place of origin Total number of Sakhalin & USSR returnees: 3,183,291 (9%, 296,640) Korea (22%, 713,287) China (16%, 496,016) Manchuria (38%, 1,218,646) Okinawa and other neighbouring Taiwan islands (10%, 322,156) (0.5%, 14,434) Southeast Asia and South Pacific (4%, 112,951) Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and other regions (0.3%, 9,161) The figures in parentheses are the number of returnees from each region and the percentage of the total civilian repatriates.3 Map created by the author. 3 Ministry of Health and Welfare, Hikiage to Engo Sanjūnen No Ayumi (Tokyo: Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1977), 690. 4 Figure 2: Number of repatriates arriving in Japan by year 4 5,096,323 743,757 303,624 97,844 8,360 802 729 27,205 16,852 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954-1995 The total number of repatriates in this figure is 6,295,496. This includes both civilians and military personnel. With regards the regional origins of the repatriates, the areas controlled by Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang government (mainland China and Taiwan) deported the Japanese nationals relatively smoothly, sending back 97.6 per cent of the Japanese population by the end of 1946. 5 By contrast, repatriation from the regions controlled by the Soviet Army (Manchuria, North Korea, and Russia) took much longer. From these regions, approximately 575,000 soldiers and civilians were sent to Siberia, Central Asia, and Mongolia, where they were used as manual labourers until 1956.6 China and Taiwan also detained Japanese soldiers and civilians, mostly for their technical skills. One group which faced particularly severe difficulties during repatriation were the Japanese immigrant farmers who were living in Manchuria. From the 1930s to the end of the war, around 270,000 people had been recruited from Japan and sent to the remote areas of Manchuria to physically occupy the region and defend the border against the U.S.S.R. The 4 Ministry of Health and Welfare (Shakai Engo Kyoku), Engo 50 Nenshi (Tokyo: Gyōsei, 1997). 5 Yasuo Wakatsuki, Sengo Hikiage No Kiroku (Tokyo: Jiji Tsūshinsha, 1995), 252-53. 6 Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, "Siberia Yokuryū Chū Shibōsha Ni Kansuru Siryō No Chōsa Ni Tsuite," (Tokyo: Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisaku/2009/11/01.html. Accessed on 9 November 2018. 5 Japanese government estimates that approximately 90,000 died during the repatriation from attacks by the U.S.S.R. military and local population.7 Existing literature on post-war repatriation Although many books and essays on Japan’s postwar returnees have been written, a majority focus on their difficult experiences during the journey home following the surrender. However, in these analyses, repatriates’ post-war economic transitions are not fully examined. Among the few academic research papers on the returnees’ postwar occupations is a short essay "Hikiagesha to Sensō Chokugo No Rōdō Ryoku" (Odaka, 1996).8 However, this paper only briefly summarises and explains the information published in the 1950 National Census9 and the records of repatriation programmes published in the same year. 10 Sengo Hikiage no Kiroku (Wakatsuki, 1995)11 is probably the most comprehensive analysis of the Japanese civilian repatriation. In this volume, the author tries to fill the gap between personal memoirs and official records, using a wide range of source materials, including public records, Japanese military documents, scholarly essays on specific regions including Manchuria, personal memoirs, source materials on international law, as well as Japanese newspaper articles on the repatriation. Despite the wide scope of the topic, Wakatsuki manages to integrate various sources of information to offer a balanced overview of the repatriation. However, repatriates’ postwar job experiences are not mentioned in this study. Written in English, When Empire Comes Home (Watt, 2009) 12 explores

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